Manchester United Plotting £60m Bid For Real Madrid Star Who Has A Mammoth €1bn Release Clause

Manchester United are reportedly eying up a potential £60m (€70m) bid for Real Madrid star Federico Valverde as part of plans to reinforce the club’s fragile midfield.

The Red Devils have struggled with consistency in midfield and United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has come under scathing criticism over his side’s run of form.

United brought in Jadon Sancho, Raphael Varane and Cristiano Ronaldo in the summer transfer window, but failed to recruit a midfielder for Solskjaer.

The Premier League club were linked with Eduardo Camavinga, but the 19-year-old midfielder left Rennes and signed for Madrid in the summer.

Another option for United has been Declan Rice, but West Ham slapped a £100m price tag on the England international to fend off interest from rival clubs.

According to El Nacional, the Red Devils have now turned their attention to Valverde and are ‘ready’ to launch a £60m offer for the midfielder.

PA

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Valverde, 23, has made 12 appearances and registered a single assist for Carlo Ancelotti’s men across all competitions this season.

The Uruguayan midfielder has faced tough competition from the likes of Casemiro, Luka Modric and Toni Kroos to secure regular first-team football at Madrid.

However, Madrid boss Ancelotti sees Valverde as part of his plans at Los Blancos and United face an uphill battle in signing him.

Valverde inked a contract extension with Madrid in August, with his current deal set to expire in 2027.

PA

The Uruguay international also has a mammoth £856m (€1bn) release clause inserted into his Madrid contract.

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According to reports, Valverde has been identified as a replacement for Paul Pogba at United.

Pogba, 28, will see his current United contract expire next summer and has been linked with Madrid, Paris Saint-Germain and Juventus.

It has been reported that the 2018 World Cup winner could be used in a potential swap deal with Madrid, which would see Valverde head to Old Trafford.  

Pogba has been sidelined due to a hamstring injury and is also unavailable for selection after picking up his red card in Liverpool’s 5-0 win in October.

The Red Devils will return to action on Saturday against Watford at Vicarage Road, with kick-off scheduled for 3pm UK time.

Topics: Real Madrid, La Liga, Spain, Manchester United, Premier League, England

Adnan Riaz

Adnan Riaz is a journalist for SPORTbible. He studied for a B.A. in History at the University of York and followed it up with an M.A. in Multimedia Journalism at MMU. Before he started writing about sports, he spent over four years in the gaming press. He has worked for several publications, including Hardcore Gamer, LADbible and the Manchester Evening News. Follow him on Twitter to find out what he is working on next. Got a story tip for Adnan? Email him: [email protected]

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